Indians prefer chicken over red meat, eggs

PTIMay 1, 2007, 04.40pm IST

NEW DELHI: India appears to be turning more and more health conscious with people preferring chicken, fruits and vegetables over red meat and eggs.While the per capita monthly consumption of mutton has come down from 0.11 kg per in 1993-94 to 0.07 kg in 2004-05 in urban India, the consumption of chicken has risen from 0.03 kg to 0.09 kg during the 11-year period, said the 61st Round of survey on household consumption conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).The decline was also observed in case of eggs with per capita consumption in urban India falling from 2.06 eggs per month in 1999-00 to 1.72 eggs in 2004-05.In the fruits segment, increase in per capita consumption was witnessed in four fresh fruits bananas, coconuts, apples and mangoes.Also, the per capital consumption of groundnuts increased significantly in rural and urban areas during the 11- year period.The survey also revealed that while per capita consumption of brinjal declined distinctly, the per capita consumption of many other vegetables has risen significantly.Largest increase was witnessed in consumption of onions in both rural and urban areas over the 11-year period.Consumption of tomatoes per person per month has increased by at least 50 gm per month between 1993-94 to 2004-05, the survey revealed.Also, the percentage of households consuming vegetables have grown significantly rising by 3-6 per cent during the 11-year period for potatoes, onions and brinjal, 8-10 percentage points for cabbages and 12 percentage points for cauliflowers and tomatoes.